Freestyle share

Now that its almost all over, I thought I'd share some of the cool stuff I did at Freestyle. I loved this weekend so much and I have gone home and finished all but one project and that will be finished soon.

Anyway here are my Kim Henkel 'Random photos that make me Smile' and Emily Falconbridges 'Shiny Happy People' class layouts. It's weird how the scan seems to have washed out the colour of the bottom pipe cleaner on my Kim Henkel layout, it's actually a nice grass green.

Anyway I totally adored these classes, can't wait to have more of a play with these techniques. I love the idea of Kim's layout of adding all those little photos, so effective, and I love pipe cleaners, I have a huge handful in a glass in my scraproom sitting on the table, the colours are so vibrant and cool. I've bought some ink too and I am going to be dyeing up a storm on paper towels.

NZ Dares - Dare # 20 - WOW

We're back into it again. Yay!! Can you believe we're up to Dare # 20 already. Where has the time gone. Check No 8 Wired tonight for a cool new dare with a cool sponsor. We have some awesome dares coming up so keep those entries coming in, we looove to see the different takes on the dares.
And if you don't know about Scrapcamp already, check here for details. We're limiting the numbers this time so send those registrations in if you are wanting to come.
And here's a cool blog about scrapping boy pages I found through Sharon's blog.

Heidi Swapp scrapjacked

Scrapjacking the wonderful Heidi Swapp - how cool.

Here's my jack; inspired by the background masking/stencilling? and the handwriting. FUN!!

Freestyle Tutors ROCK!!

What a FANTASTIC weekend. Thank you so much to the Kiwiscraps team for putting on such a fab weekend and bringing to NZ such inspiring and LOVELY ladies.

The highlight for me was attending Emily's Wall Art class on Sunday. It was her last class of the weekend and just a small one. What a great project, in fact I loved both the classes I did of hers. Right up my alley. I won't say too much, just that if you like her stuff you will absolutely love her classes and her. So she sat with us and we all just chatted away while we worked our way through the project. Just awesome, she is lovely.

I also LOVED Kim Henkels classes. What a beautiful person she is and such a great tutor. As most of you know I love playing with pipe cleaners (ala Kim Henkel) so was really looking forward to her classes and I loved them. Felt, stitching and pipe cleaners, YUM YUM.

Tia Bennett, so much energy and enthusiasm, so much so that I wanted to go straight to the room on Saturday night and finish the layout we started in her class. Gorgeous layouts. Textural feasts.

On Friday night we attended a fun crop night of make n takes run by the international tutors. What a great night with lots of fun techniques learnt. And my fav was Rhonna Farrers using up scraps of paper and felt and buttons etc, so cool. Loved the result of all the projects put together. Can't show you a pic now cause my bag with it in got mixed up with everyones stuff and has ended up in Papamoa at Yolandes, LOL.

Had a great time on Saturday night cropping in our room with Yolande, Delys, Sheryl, Michelle, Eileen and Sandra. Thanks Delys for the drinks, LOL.

I'll leave you with a pic of me looking through Emily's Art Journal cards - so cool IRL. Also a pic of her in the process of making one.

18 Today

It's my boys 18th birthday today.

Happy Birthday James.

SENZ sneak peaks

Here are mine and Lee's SENZ class sneak peeks. They are such fun cool classes. Email Scrappin Downunder to book in or go here for more info. I also had fun making these little storyboards for the first time, hehe, using one of these templates.

Street Art dare and more

I finally did my Street Art dare layout. I was determined to find the inspiration I needed and sure enough driving into Pukekohe one day I found it. On a building on the edge of the Pukekohe racecourse. I drove past it and you know how that light bulb goes off in your head and you know just what to do, well I spun around because luckily I had my camera in the car and snapped it. How cool is this graffiti, just the right word for my page title.

And you know how I said I was keeping up with Emily's Deck of Cards Art Journal, well not anymore, I'm way behind. Here are the next few up to Week 7 - oops better hurry up and catch up. I think I'm about 5 weeks behind.

Week 5 - Use some ephemera from your week

Week 6 - Love, Love, Love

Week 7 - Shoes - there is always a story

Yeehaa - Scrapcamp details are out now. Check the Scrapcamp blog for info. We have 2 amazing tutors coming too.

Have you checked out the great dares on No. 8 Wired. If you're going to Freestyle Downunder you might want to check this out to get a taste of the awesome talent coming our way very soon.

Check out the NZ Dare blog tomorrow night for something EXTRA fun and exciting. Yes an EXTRA dare which we know you will LOVE.

Watch this space!!

Hope you enjoy my brushes I had heaps of fun making them and have ideas for more. I'd love to see how you use them so please link me up if you do.

Watch this space for an update this week!!! So exciting. You will not want to miss this! And a wee clue... we're looking at flight times from overseas to NZ trying to make arrangements. Not long now till all is revealed! But email Yolande at kandyfenneman@actrix.co.nz if you want to be added to the newsletter list. Those that have attended before are already on the list but any newbies please feel free to email Yolande. Details will be going out early next week (just waiting to confirm a few details).

Brushes

OK let's try this. Here's a sampling of some of the brushes I made. If you like them hopefully you can click on the picture and go to the download place and there's a couple more sets there if you want them too.

And here's a pic of Emma using some of them.

Bad, bad weather

Windy, wet and stormy. Last night my poor dogs had to come inside they were so scared of the thunder and lightning. It's so rough at the beach, 6 metre swells, very scary looking.

Did you see my new banner??

A share in case you didn't manage to get your hands on the latest Up2Scrap, cause apparently they've all sold out. You might be lucky to find one in a stationers somewhere. Awesome mag this month.

I'm just gonna do it ...

... I think I've been avoiding posting on my blog because I just have so much to say at the moment and trying to remember it all, the idea was just too much apart from the time factor. Anyway I've decided to just try and post a bit each day as I think of things.
So first and foremost I have to say how proud I am of my girl. She went out and got herself a parttime job as a waitress in a restaurant, so cool, and a really great job too.
Also she won discus at school athletics last week for her level. She threw an almighty 18 something metres and the closest to her was 16 something. She's always been good at that. :))) She's off today to the Counties athletics.

Check out my SENZ classes here and email scrappin.downunder@xtra.co.nz if you want to book in or want more info.

I have made some really cool Photoshop brushes (I know, wasting time doing that when I should be doing other stuff but it's very addictable) and I just need to work out how to make a zip file downloadable from my blog if anyone can help.

Found this cool site too.

Auckland people ...

... if you're interested, I'm holding this Clock Canvas class next Wednesday night 7th March, 6.30 - 8.30. Email scrappin.downunder@xtra.co.nz if you're keen. It looks even better and more dimensional IRL.

It's 11.30 and I haven't even had breakfast yet. I wanted to get this done for the Scrapjacked dare cause I saw the cool ones Rach and Monique did and I wanted to have a go. A 'scrapjack' of Amber Skolnick. Love her. As you can see she is already in my sidebar.

How cool was last night at the Scrapbook Outlet cyber crop having Elsie Flannigan come and join us. Wow Andrea what a cool thing to organise. I was blown away to be talking to Elsie. She is so cool to do that. I didn't do any challenges last night but they are definitely on my long to do list; esp like the sound of Yolande and Laras ones. I was also rather brain dead last night, everyone was scrapping up a storm but I just sat in front of my computer like a zombie. I did doodle on a photo though, which I will scrap. You should go look at the awesome stuff in the gallery there.

I also have my art card challenges to load up as well. I have been keeping up with those.

And theres a new recycle-it challenge at Zingboom. Fun.

And check out the NZ Dare Colour Pop challenge. Here's mine. Sponsored by CherryArte. How cool; thanks Lu.

As you know James went off to Uni last weekend. I miss him heaps already. Talk to him just about everyday and he's only an hour away. LOL.

We have been adding on to our kitchen, so that's nearly finished, just waiting on some shelves and the bench top which Rob is going to make.

James' sleepout is waiting on the gib stopper and we have a Versatile garage waiting to be delivered. It's all go I tell ya.

Then there's Emma who's started 5th form and is trying hard to be good and keep up with her school work, but sometimes it is hard with peer pressure etc. But you gotta keep letting them know you love them so much and hope for the best.

AND I have heaps of scrapping I need to and want to do. There just ain't enough hours in the day especially when the beautiful sunshine is calling me. I hate being inside on a sunny day.

I'm hungry now, must go eat.

Man it took me ages to do this post with all the links and my stupid dial-up slow job.

Happy sunny day everyone. Keep smiling. What goes around come around.

Finally finished my birthday cake layout. Was sitting on my table for awhile - waiting to be finished!! Scan has cut bottom off again :(

James is off to Uni next weekend. Imagine me with a sad look on my face now. But I am so proud of him for doing what he's doing. Did I tell you what he's doing?? He's training to be a PE teacher. Yeah I know, right up his alley aye. That's what everyone says. He will be so good. I will miss him soooo much. He is so neat to have around.

I'm trying to organise the Photoshop brushes I've made into files for people to download. Not sure if it will work but will give it a go. Will let you know if it works OK.

Have a great weekend. Hope the weathers good. Want to catch a spot of sun and swimming this weekend.

Happy Birthday Emma - she turned 15 yesterday

It was Emmas birthday yesterday the 5th. We had an great day. First she sat her Learners drivers licence and passed with only one wrong. Wow go Emma!! Then she wanted to get her nose pierced so off we went to Primal Piercing in Maunkau to get that done. And ouch, it made her eyes water and yes it really hurt. Looks cool though. She suits it. Then she wanted to go to the zoo. We've been wanting to go to the zoo for ages and it was the perfect day. It was overcast and not too hot. Here's some photos James and I took. Got some great shots, took 177 photos. She did get pressies too.

Another fire

You may remember just over a year ago I blogged about a huge fire in the sand dunes on New Years Eve. Well I arrived home about 10pm last night to flashing lights, fire engines and a helicopter. I drove up thinking please not my house, please not my house, and thank goodness it wasn't. But unfortunately it was a huge fire in the sand dunes just near my place, round the corner and down a track. The helicopter went for ages emptying bucket after bucket of water on the fire. Collecting water from the river and flying back and dumping it on the fire.

Here's some photos of the aftermath today. It's so sad you know the damage it does. I know it regenerates quickly but there is a sadness about it. So many people were wandering around over there today 'visiting' the site, like someone died.

Emily's Art Journal

Week 3 - I am ...Week 4 - A Symbol you love. I have always, always loved sunflowers. I've grown them - I grew the biggest sunflower ever one year.

Finally caught up. I'm loving doing this challenge, using old stuff and different techniques. On card 3 I used pink Lumiere paint and then mod podged some patterned tissue paper (toilet paper actually) over the top. I used Tim Holtz distress embossing powder on the centre of the sunflower and round the edges of card 4. Loving that stuff, such a cool texture.

Watched the first LOST (series 3) instalment tonight. So where did that go. Back to their old tricks and not telling us anything. So annoying.

If you haven't seen it 'The Lakehouse' is an awesome movie.

My record cover challenge. This was so much fun, firstly searching through the hundreds of old records at my local second hand shop and then finding this one and knowing exactly what to do with it. The covers are 12 x 12 so you just use it as your background and away you go adding photos, embellishments, paint, journalling, whatever. Heaps of fun. I have 2 more to play with too.
Week 2 of Emily's deck of me art journal challenge. 'What is powerful to you?' Week 3's prompt is - 'I am ...'

And one more share; my NZ Dare layout for the 'Going round in circles' theme. Lots of circles, dots and spots going on here LOL.

Happy things

I'm doing this, it has to be the coolest idea I've seen for ages. Take a deck of cards - 52 of them = 52 weeks in the year. Alter one a week and create an awesome Art Journal. I'm so into this idea. I look around my scrapping room and see so many things I can use that I haven't used for ages, techniques I haven't done for ages or haven't tried yet. Can't wait. What a cool way to get into altered art if you haven't tried it yet. Creating on a small canvas is so much quicker and fun.So here's my first weeks card, I'm a week behind but working on week 2 now. The prompt for this one was 'Something you are proud of'. Thanks Emily for the inspiration. Can't wait till you come to NZ.

NZ Dare blog has a new dare. Go check it out and leave comments cause we love to hear from you.

Things that make me happy. Got this idea from Elsie Flannigan. I went around today and took snaps of the little things around me that make me happy. Here's some of them.

Emmas new Playboy lamp, the little Playboys catch the light and shine on the wall at night. Soooo cool.

My window decal I stuck on when we first shifted in. Love dolphins.
A picture on the wall of Rob and I when we were 19. A bit faded now.

Rob gave James and Emma these cool clocks for Xmas. They rock back and forward. The boy surfs and the girl dances. So cute.

My gardenMy Friday night happiness. Pretzels and Jim Beam and Diet Coke in my favourite Jim Beam and Diet Coke glass.

These kits make me happy. Here's a cool challenge I want to do too. Check it out.

Take some happy photos and link them here.

Wow, it's been a long time

So anyway I was just going to update my blog finally and also post this layout I had done for the Aussie Dares blog. I was just checking them out as I do regularly and what should I find but that I'd won the dare. How cool is that. I win these cool papers from Scrapapple. Can't wait. The dare was to dig up some old stuff from over a year ago, so I dug up some circle and heart clips and made them into flowers. Fun.

I've been away for awhile in Gisborne. We were there for New Years. A fun night of drinking and dancing. Had a great time catching up with friends. The weather wasn't too hot for Gisborne, in fact I've never ever known Gisborne so cold at that time of year. But we had a couple of days to work on the suntan. It was luverley.

I never make New Years resolutions because I never keep them but this year I'm determined to change a few things. So one of my resolutions was to make an effort to cook nice healthy meals. And so far so good.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

How's the crazy seaon going for everyone? I've been out shopping the last 2 days. Of course I left it all till the last minute. Wasn't as bad as I thought though.

Went out to dinner last night in Skycity for my birthday, which is actually on Thursday. Check out the amazing birthday cake Mum got me. Mmmmmm it's soooo yummy. The topping is meringuey stuff and the cake part, OMG, it's like a trifley, cheesecakey thing with boysenberries too. It's so divine. I've never had anything like it before.

After dinner we went and took some city photos. I love city shots. Here's a couple. I have to admit a lot of them were out of focus cause I was trying to snap them quickly, dammit. Emma took this one. Hey we got the Billabong sign in too LOL.

Loving the Skytower one with the cool pink sky behind.

The FAM.

So yeah that's about it.

I'M BACK

LOL I don't think anyone checks my blog anymore I'm so slack at blogging lately. But if you do happen to drop by here's a few goodies for you.

Scrapcamp blog updated with photos and thank yous.

NZ Dare blog updated with Slide Show of all the cool Dare # 12 entries.

A layout and card using the new Heidi Grace range we have just got in at Scrappin Downunder. Also see another layout on the NZ Dare Blog. The most divine papers and embellishments and rub ons. MMmmm.

And here is my double pager Up2Scrap entry that wasn't published. The scan has cut of the line that goes right around the edge of both layouts.

Happy Scrapping and Happy Christmas shopping.